Traditional Support Structures & Their Limitations

Traditional IT support in companies is typically organized into tiers. First-level support serves as the initial point of contact and handles basic inquiries: password resets, navigating the new user interface, missing features, or questions about day-to-day processes. When issues become more technically complex, second- and third-level support step in.

The problem with this support structure in today's fast-paced work environment is obvious:

Long wait times:

Users must create a ticket, describe the problem, and wait for a response. During this time, their actual work comes to a standstill, which significantly limits the "time-to-value" of the new software.

High costs:

Every call and every ticket in first-level support costs the company money. Industry studies show that an average, manually processed support ticket costs companies between 15 and 30 euros.

A Waste of Valuable Resources:

IT professionals are expensive and hard to find. They should be working on strategic issues, cybersecurity, and complex problems, rather than explaining for the hundredth time how to generate a report in the CRM system.

Traditional support models react passively to errors rather than proactively preventing them. They are simply no longer scalable when updates (as is common in the cloud) and new tools are rolled out in ever-shorter cycles.

Common Reasons for Support Requests

Why do employees pick up the phone or open tickets so often in the first place? The reasons are usually not technical in nature, but rather user-related:

Incomplete onboarding:

In-person training sessions or hours-long webinars held before the go-live provide a lot of theory, but weeks later, once the system is live, that knowledge has long since faded ("forgetting curve").

Complex User Interfaces:

Many enterprise applications are feature-rich but not necessarily intuitive.

Rare and irregular tasks:

Processes that are carried out only once a quarter or once a year (e.g., quarterly financial statements, special vacation requests, annual performance reviews) require a fresh orientation each time.

New Updates & Release Cycles:

Cloud software is constantly changing. New buttons, relocated menus, and altered layouts can confuse users and lead to accidental clicks.

DAP as "First-Level Support" directly within the system

This is exactly where Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) like datango come in. A DAP acts as an invisible, intelligent layer over the target application (e.g., SAP, Oracle, Infor, SuccessFactors, or other web-based tools) and provides assistance exactly where it’s needed: right within the process.

Instead of having to leave the application whenever a question arises—to search for an outdated PDF manual on the intranet, access a training course, or submit a support ticket—the user receives real-time performance support.

Tooltips and Warnings

Incorrect entries are prevented immediately by explaining fields and validating formats, even before the actual software generates an error message. The DAP thus functions as an automated, tireless first-level support system that is available around the clock in all company languages.

In-App Guidance

Step-by-step instructions (Guided Learning) guide the user through the process in real time. The system uses visual cues to show exactly where to click.

Context-based help

The system automatically detects which page and which screen the user is on and proactively suggests the exact help they need.

Self-Service Instead of a Help Desk: How DAPs Reduce Support Costs

Benefits: Reduced burden on IT and faster problem resolution

The shift from a help desk-centered approach to a self-service-centered one brings massive benefits to the entire company—not just IT:

1. Significantly reduce the IT department's workload:

Since "how-to" questions (How do I place an order? How do I update my profile information?) are answered by the system itself, the volume of tickets in first-level support has dropped dramatically. The IT team finally has some breathing room again to focus on innovation.

2. Zero wait time (instant resolution):

Employees no longer have to wait for a solution. They simply click on the help icon, are guided through the process in real time, and complete their task immediately and without errors. Productivity remains consistently high.

3. High data quality & fewer subsequent errors:

Thanks to real-time validation and strictly managed processes, employees enter data correctly the very first time. This not only reduces the number of support tickets but also minimizes the immense effort required for subsequent data cleansing and corrects erroneous reports.

4. Successful Change Management:

User adoption of new software is increasing as frustration is eliminated. Resistance to new tools—which often poses a major obstacle in change management—is being reduced because employees feel empowered and supported by the system.

ROI Analysis: Turning Cost-Saving Potential into Reality

People often underestimate how much of their budget is wasted on inefficient support. Investments in a digital adoption platform pay for themselves surprisingly quickly. A simple example calculation illustrates the potential savings:

Suppose a company with 1,000 employees generates, on average, only 2 “how-to” tickets per employee per month following a software rollout.
That amounts to 2,000 support tickets per month.
With an average cost of €20 per ticket (for staff, infrastructure, and lost time), support costs total €40,000 per month.

Experience shows that a high-performance DAP can handle up to 40 to 60% of these first-level inquiries. That translates to direct cost savings of €16,000 to €24,000 per month in this area alone. Added to this are the “soft” but substantial savings resulting from significantly shorter onboarding times, the elimination of expensive in-person training, and the avoidance of workforce downtime. In practice, the ROI (return on investment) of a DAP is often achieved within the first year.

Conclusion: Help people help themselves instead of keeping them on hold

Ongoing training and support for employees in their day-to-day work (“learning by doing”) is the key to successful and profitable software projects.

With a digital adoption platform like datango, you can make your complex application software virtually self-explanatory. Not only will you significantly reduce support costs and free up your valuable IT resources, but you’ll also boost your teams’ satisfaction and productivity in the long term. If you want to build a support strategy for the future, there’s no getting around intelligent performance support right within the system.

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